Is Divorce Good For The Economy?

Kim Kardashian is under the media limelight again, only this time it has nothing to do with her pedantic reality shows or sex tapes but rather her divorce from former NBA jersey nets player Kris Humphries. Now before you decide that this is another one of them articles about celebrity martial issues nobody really cares about, this one managed to capture my attention because the chain of resulting events might actually impact the economy in an indirect way. Read on the see how.

For all those of you who are new to the this ‘Hot news’, Kim Kardashian was engaged to the basketball player way back in August this year, in and around the 20th . The wedding had received a great deal of media attention after Humphries apparently purchased a 20 carat diamond ring for his bride, at an estimated cost of $2.5 million.

However, in spite of all the ‘made for each other’ business going around, word eventually got out that the marriage was more of a business rather than a personal proposition, where she wanted to make use of the media attention to promote her brands.

So Kim Kardashian did what any other normal celebrity would do, by suing the heck out the publicist that spread the rumor and publicly filing for a divorce. The divorce battle commenced on December 1 and is still ensuing with both sides refusing to relent or bend over, however on the sidelines the economy is getting impacted in a very subtle way and I am leaving you all to decide whether the outcome was positive or negative-

The Kardashian clan is well known for their business interests in fashion and retail and television, especially Kim who even has her own lucrative online shoe retailing website. If these scandalous rumors affect the Kardashian brand in an unrecoverable way, it will cause huge tremors in the media and television industry, where the channels hosting their show may tend to lose millions.

While the bill for the opulent wedding did manage to gross over $10 million, the divorce may end up costing much more for both the parties. Secondly, this may in turn pump up the real estate market as most celebrity divorces end up with either one or both the parties purchasing some posh mansion in an upscale community, thus causing the house and land prices of that community to go up, due to the reputation of the parties in question. While this divorce still needs to reach a stalemate, the above scenario will happen sooner or later.

Generally, marriage and divorce is good for certain industries. Lawyers, accountants, cities, car rentals, hotels. They all love marriages/divorces. Let’s look at divorce in general. What was once one home, one car, one t.v. now because two homes and two cars etc etc. When people go from 1 unit to 2 individuals a lot of industries are positively effected.

However, since correlation does not result in causation, I am not implying that celebrities should get divorced in order to keep the economy running, because all these scenarios are merely circumstantial. The point being, the economy of today is so complex and enigmatic, that it is often affected by ways in which you least expect, so beware.

Besides, by all accounts the worst part about getting a divorce, other than being separated from your ‘loved’ ones, is the fact that they do not come cheap, especially for a man. I am not being biased or sexist but it is a proven fact that women have a higher chance of getting alimony than their male counterparts.

It’s fairly simple actually. Alimony has nothing to do with sex but mainly with income of the parties involved. Traditionally, the man was the sole bread winner and thus had to pay spousal support. But either way, it is bad for both the parties. My point being, divorce is a decision that can be as mind boggling as marriage itself and there is a lot of brainstorming involved.

So what is your opinion of the Kim Kardashin and Kris Humphries marriage? Do you think their marriage and quick divorce was good for the economy?

43 comments

Honest opinion–She's a no-talent d-lister in my books, and anyone who puts their life on display like that for $$$ is trashy (that includes the "Fake-Ass" Housewives of whatever city they're up to also).

Can't really speak to the divorce being good for the economy question, as most of the time, the parties involved will have such a minuscule impact on the economy, that everyone would have to get divorced at the same time for it to be noticeable. (sort of)

You made me spit out my coffee with your first paragraph. Hmm… is an epic DollarVersity rant/rage post coming soon. I would love to read an article of your opinion on all the current reality stars from the Kardashians to Jersey Shore to Real House Wives of where ever.

I would say divorce / marriage is good for the economy because there are total industries in which rely on unions and their subsequent split up to survive. 50% of all marriages end in divorce. So, that is a lot of people jumping the broom then calling the quits.

Nah, no rants or posts about them. I don't respect or care enough about them to dedicate that kind of time and energy. Did you hear the rumor that Lamar Odom was traded by the Lakers because of his marriage to the ugly sister? Just goes to show you that even in Hollywood, sometimes enough is enough.

I do agree with you there are industries that rely on unions and splits but most of those industries have other ways of making money too. I personally am not a huge fan of divorce and think people are just lazy and can't be bothered to actually work at something, like a relationship.

interesting question. I do believe expenses, per person, are higher when you are single so you'd expect more spending, but families do tend to take on more consumer debt. I'm not sure if the economy goes one way or the other. However, in divorce, there is the possibility of a second marriage. Perhaps in that way it could help the economy?

I try not to waste more than about half a brain cell thinking or caring about the Kardashian clan, although I must admit that I had no idea who Kris Humphries was prior to this wedding. Now I know he is in the NBA, but I still don't care.

Marissa //

Ditto.

Also, being a Toronto sports fan, I will always have a soft spot for her Kris Humphries.

My wife seems to like her, but she does seem to be famous for picking the right family. Her father, of course, was on the OJ Simpson trial, and her step father is a gold medalist. Why she married perhaps the 8th best player on the Nets is beyond me.

Divorce is good for certain industries, but none of them are generally good. I really don't follow the tabloids and have next to no knowledge about the Kardashian's but from what I can tell it was just another trick to raise the profile of someone that really shouldn't matter.

Good observation with the taking on of more consumer debt. Do married couples have more consumer debt than two individuals? Also, I believe that marriage and divorce both have positive effects on the economy. But, speaking on the Kim K situation. I wonder if the divorce will cost as much as the wedding.

Hahha.. dang she can't even get 1 half a brain cell. I only used her because her wedding was very popular. Heck, I could have used any married/divorce person for my example. What are your thoughts on Divorce being good for the economy? Do you believe Divorce has a positive impact?

She was married before to someone relatively unknown. It was awkward to have a wedding with Kris Humphries of all people. She could have picked a more popular player for this experiment. What are you thoughts on Marriage/Divorce being good for the economy?

I never thought about the hotel industry benefiting from divorce but it makes sense. I was more thinking of bars, restaurants, and the alcohol industry directly benefiting. As collectively wealthy as they are, couldn't they both be classified as unemployed just a few short months ago?

Pretty indifferent, to tell the truth. No one has ever confused me for a hopeless romantic, but it was important for me to have a traditional wedding (the Catholic boy inside of me?).

Regardless, more divorces means more remarriages, which means more exuberant spending – I was there, recently. It's better that that money circulates through the economy then sits in a star's bank account, but even that is stimulative because the bank can use it to make loans.

However, I would say that more marriages is a net positive – especially if Kim can start some new, expensive, wedding traditions. Maybe we can have a wedding bubble?

Divorce is of course just bad but I agree that it can help the economy just because it costs a lot of money to get a divorce. As people spend money even in divorces, they are putting money into the economy. Divorce lawyers for example makes ton of money in helping people go thru divorces.

Hahahah…. I didn't even think of that. I tried to spin a hot topic into a actual financial discussion. But, hopefully it works. My search engine traffic is horrible according to Google. I hope this post boosts that a bit.

I would hope they wouldn't be classified as unemployed. The Kardashians have an empire and as crazy as it sounds.. Kim K is a savvy business person. As far as Kris Humpries, he was out of work shortly.. but when you get Millions a year to play 82 basketball games and to be in shape. Life isn't too bad.

There are tons of industries that benefit from weddings and divorces I curious if a study exists to highlight them all.

It's all business Miss T. I must admit it was a great business decision. It probably will bring more money for both of them. Who was Kris Humphries before the marriage? A nobody.. now he's all over the news. Hello.. advertisers and endorsements.

Good point on pointing out people's laziness.. I agree. People are very lazy and selfish. Nobody wants to work on things. They rather blame others and quit.

In this case, it probably is good for the economy but not good for society and particularly for children.

I am not saying people shouldn't get divorced if the marriage has broken down but there are long term effects sometimes on and offspring. Yes they may have two homes, two sets of holidays (all of course good for the economy), new step-persons etc but it can be very disturbing for them because the people they believed in unconditionally are at each other's throats or something like that – or worse one parent walks away and never sees his or her child. The economic cost of this also has to be considered.

Now if you want something that is good for the economy, I give you war. Not perhaps for the military who may be killed or injured but for industry and everything except for holidays in the warring parties countries ……

That's probably because 10 years down the line, no-one's heart is still in it, not the people nor the 'leaders'. Nothing disastrous has happened since 9/11 and people just want to get on with their lives.

Of course we don't know what would have happened if nothing had been done – would they have gone from bad to worse? Or fizzled out? Would the Moslem world grappled with this cancer in their midst instead of burying it head in the sand and blaming everyone else?

And 10 years is a long campaign. This of course is Al Qaeda's waiting game – they have time on their side but maybe not. The recent uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and so on may mean that the penny has dropped and that part of the world will turn on the main causes of their impoverishment – their leaders and their alternatives. For this at least they have to thank the west for the technology!

It's similar over here I think. Except we have continued political blame game because of equipment and stuff – maybe you do too….

'Nuff said really – you were posing a question about celebrity divorce!

"Do married couples have more consumer debt than two individuals?" It depends on if there are children. Married couples with children have more than twice as much consumer debt as singles with children and singles without children (on average of course). Married couples without children, or Kim's situation, have slightly less consumer debt per person than singles.

Divorce might be good for the economy but it would be a happier world with fewer divorces taking place. The lawyers must be smiling though, their services are in big demand. As for celebs, many view marriage way too lightly.

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